By Victor Migalchan
I
n demand American model and actress Victoria Liub, an artist with Ukrainian roots, began climbing the Fashion-Olympus in Kyiv. Now she’s booking shooting schedules in Miami and New York. In an exclusively with Hollywood Weekly, Victoria talks about her career, her path to fame and a glimpse behind the scenes of a model’s life. Victoria, you’ve established a successful career in America as a model and actress; did you always know that you would become famous? No, I did not. I was athletic, but very thin, and I was often teased for because of that. The boys always ran after me, pulled my pigtails, took my schoolbag away. I remember once I came to school and saw something written on the blackboard; it said “Vika’s legs are super!” This made me feel so ashamed! I quickly grabbed a sponge and wiped everything away -- blushing the whole time! I never imagined myself as a model, I probably just found myself in the right place, at the right time. In my childhood I always read magazines and looked at top models. I definitely enjoyed it all! What do you consider a turning point in your career? It was a moment when I reached a certain status of being a model. People began to recognize me, but I wanted to keep developing and not just stop with what I had achieved. I was often invited to be a TV presenter in various projects, but I wanted to play! I’m a creative person, I have always painted. I
was engaged in equestrian sports, I’ve danced and played the piano. I also performed in a school choir. Thanks to my mom, I was raised as a real aristocratic girl. Art has always been in my life! Therefore, after my higher education in the field of management, I decided to get an acting education at Fort Lauderdale Theater, Florida, and now I continue to improve. How was that period when your fans began to recognize you and ask you to take photos with them. I never considered myself a star, although of course there was a time when I became to be recognized. (Smiles). A lot of TV commercials and billboards with my photo were appearing, and people started to stop and whisper. The bravest of them photographed me or tried to speak, but I’m still a little shy when I’m in those situations. This is my work, my favorite work. And in my everyday life I try to stay an ordinary person! You have extensive experience modeling in different countries. What are you most attracted to by modeling in America? I have to emphasize I love America, and the USA is a big market, for sure, and many different projects are done here. But I still work a lot in Europe and continue to travel all around the world. America is a country of great opportunities! A hardworking person can establish themselves in any field. There are definitely a lot of options both in the modeling business and the film industry here. You came from Ukraine, and it’s known that Slavs often achieve
great success in the modeling business. What do you think is the reason for that? An interesting question. I was surprised at how many beautiful girls of Latin origin, Asian, African etc., that I meet everywhere. Each of them are such a unique beauties. Probably, Ukrainian education does not allow Ukrainians to relax, we are very able-bodied, we love to achieve goals, Slavic women should always look 100 percent beautiful! Also, we are probably very sensitive, in terms of intuition. I always try to feel what the photographer wants from me. What image best projects what I need to advertise? What mood does the photographer want to see in me. Perhaps this has helped me to find consistent work as a model. Which of the shows or photo projects do you remember the most? I worked a lot in Kyiv with productions on advertising projects. My video ads have always been on TV. It is very difficult to choose one thing! With my favorite productions, I traveled to shoot in many cities with many professionals in this business. And for filming a lot of my bookings come from abroad: McDonalds, Pantene PRO-V, Assol cosmetics, Chistaya Liniya shampoos, banks and many others. I starred a lot in music videos of different bands. I was on magazine covers. I certainly am proud to work with many brands from Ukraine, even small ones. In each of my projects I do my best. Everything depends on me! I used to be a beginner model and was casting for Antonio Berardi, the Italian designer. I was chosen for the show and when I arrived after all the fitHOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 5